By Kellys Kaunda
CIVIL SOCIETY MUST SERIOUSLY INVEST IN CIVIC EDUCATION
Shortly after we returned to multiparty politics, a golden era of civil society burst upon Zambia.
Civil society entities who engaged in all manner of political products and services arose.
They were to be found in every corner of the country.
A good number of them had a component or specialized entirely in civic education.
Engaging publics directly for purposes of providing them with the necessary skills to intelligently participate in public affairs was the objective.
This made sense because in a democracy, the public is the master.
The public decides the destiny of the country.
The public ultimately decides on the constitution and subsequent laws by which they may be governed.
A public that is intelligent about public affairs is a guardrail against the tyranny of the ruling class.
It forces the rulers to deliver on their development promises.
Unfortunately, civic education has well-nigh vanished from the Zambian political scene.
Instead, we have a civil society that largely focuses on engaging the ruling elite.
As expected, the ruling elite puts up a facade of engagement and ultimately does as it so wishes.
It’s time to revisit the immediate post-1991 civil society spirit that invested in civic education, invested in the people.
As the ruling elite grows more bold in threatening the independence of institutions of democracy and blurr the lines that separate the three arms of government, it’s a strong signal for civil society to resort to civic education.
The people hold the only hope of protecting our hard-won democracy.
On the other hand, the ruling class often invests in holding onto their sectional privileges even if it means killing democracy.
Wrong Analysis Mr Kelly’s Kaunda, . The problem is neither the Ruling Elite nor the Public. The problem is with the Leadership of the CSO, they either turn their CSO in quasi Political Parties or are Partisan, just like Zambian Churches have become. CSOs and Churches have thrown away their neutrality outside the window. You know it, I know it.